Xu Le shook his head gently.
"You're wrong, Duo En. There was never any question of winning or losing between us. From the moment I returned to the Red Moon Holy Temple, your ending was already decided. Death was only a matter of time and opportunity. If you wanted to escape death, advancing to Legendary was actually your only option."
"Advancing to Legendary... that's simply impossible."
"Yes, impossible. So our battle was merely an opportunity for your mother and me to assess each other.
"I needed to use you to confirm whether Lady Meilis was sincere about cooperating.
"If she couldn't even give you up, there would be no cooperation to speak of between Lady Meilis and me.
"The same went for Lady Meilis. Although we'd clashed before, that experience was far too superficial.
"She needed to further confirm my existence, and further confirm my strength.
"As an outstanding Level 6 Puppet Master and a powerful enforcer of the Red Moon Holy Temple, you were indeed a very suitable Trial Stone for me.
"So, in some unseen way, the point at which our interests intersected shifted onto you.
"You... had to die."
Xu Le's words were more like a dull blade slicing through flesh, making Duo En suffer all the more.
She knew Meilis could abandon her at any moment. The title Mother of Life had never been mere words.
That was why Duo En always did her very best.
If she did things well, there would be no flaws. Without flaws, Meilis would not readily abandon her.
What she had never expected was that, despite striving for perfection at every moment,
in Meilis's eyes, it was nothing more than a collaboration, an exchange of interests...
"So someone like me could spend her entire life never escaping the fate of